JOHN 13:34 — KING JAMES VERSION 1
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another — love is not a private virtue but a public sign, a testimony to the world that the disciples belong to Jesus and participate in his nature. The criterion of discipleship is not orthodoxy or miracle-working but mutual love, the willingness to serve and be served, to die and be risen with one another. This love is not sentiment but the hard, practical work of remaining present to one another through suffering and joy, betrayal and forgiveness. The world will recognize the disciples' identity not through their claims but through the quality of their communion.